The 80-year-old grandmother became the first Japanese to die after being positive for corona virus, the Japanese Ministry of Health today confirmed.

"The link between the new corona virus and the death of this person is still unclear. This is the first case of a person who is positive for the virus," Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said during a brief press conference. in Tokyo tonight, stressing that it is not clear if the corona virus caused her death.

The minister said the elderly woman living in Kanagawa province showed symptoms on January 22 and was hospitalized on February 1. "The doctor suspected she was infected with corona virus, so she tested it. A positive test result was confirmed after her death," Kato said.

The Ministry of Health also announced a driver in Tokyo was positive for the virus. The driver said he may have been carrying a Chinese guest and the health department is trying to determine how he got the virus. The government of Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, also confirmed a nCoV positive doctor.

The latest cases bring the total number of confirmed cases in Japan to about 250, of which 218 cases on the Diamond Princess yacht are being quarantined at the port of Yokoyama, near Tokyo.

The outbreak of corona pneumonia (Covid-19) broke out in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in December, spreading to 26 countries and territories. The epidemic has left 1,369 people dead, 60,374 infected, 8,219 in critical condition and 6,079 people have been cured worldwide.

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Countries with nCoV-infected patients. Click on image to see details.